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River

River is a village and civil parish in Kent, England, situated between the historic town of Dover and the neighbouring village of Temple Ewell. "Village" is a somewhat loose term for River; it is a community of several thousand and is probably more usefully regarded as a suburb of Dover. After a period of rapid housing development in the 1960s and 1970s, the size and population of River have largely stabilised in recent decades, and little new development is now seen. This is partly because River lies in a steep chalk valley which affords little scope for further expansion. However, it is also true that the Dover area is historically not in the vanguard of high economic growth, being tied almost exclusively to the cross-channel port and various support industries, which have witnessed a gradual decline since the opening of the Channel Tunnel. In transport terms River is well connected, being close to the A2 and A20 trunk routes, having a railway station at Kearsney with direct services to London, and of course being only 3mi from the Port of Dover itself.Geographically speaking, River is situated in a steep wooded valley formed by the River Dour. At its north-west (upstream) end the valley splits into the Dour Valley, in which Temple Ewell lies, and the Alkham Valley, which for much of the time is dry but which contains the Drellingore, a highly seasonal stream characteristic of chalk downland (another example being the nearby Nailbourne). The confluence of the Dour and Drellingore rivers is situated in Kearsney Abbey near its Lower Road entrance.